Ever since getting pregnant, I have worked hard to be healthier. I’ve been watching what I eat (ahem, McDonald’s hashbrowns excluded from this), and how much of what I’m eating.
It’s funny to me that it took pregnancy to make me a more health conscious person. But I guess that comes with the territory of becoming a mom. I’m looking out for my little one, even though it hasn’t arrived yet.
There are some things that are in your control as a pregnant woman, like what and how much you eat. There are others that are not.
Recently, a number of kids in my town came down with Fifth Disease. Fifth Disease is a skin rash virus caused by Parvovirus B19. Like Chicken Pox, kids typically get it, and is generally considered benign. Most adults have had it, and are immune. But for pregnant women however, the disease can present risks in those who are not immune and their unborn children.
“However, sometimes a baby will develop severe anemia, and the woman may have a miscarriage. But, this is not common. It happens in less than 5% of all pregnant women with parvovirus B19 infection and more commonly during the first half of pregnancy.”
The risks for me were low, as no one I was directly to had come down with the virus, yet. I recalled a friend of mine had recently contracted Fifth Disease while pregnant with her third child. I reached out to her to learn more information.
“I knew I had no immunity because they usually test for it in early pregnancy,” Jen explained to me.
After her daughter and niece came down with the virus, she continued to get regular blood tests to monitor her situation.
“Eventually one of the tests came back positive. Then I was referred to McMaster to the high-risk obstetricians and had weekly ultrasounds and appointments to check on baby's condition. If at any time they could see that baby was not doing well then they would have sent me to Mount Sinai and baby could have had a blood transfusion. Happily, our baby was completely unaffected.”
Jen and her husband welcomed their healthy baby boy to the world last month.
After speaking with Jen, my contact with the virus got closer when a colleague came down with it. I reached out to my doctor, who said I hadn’t been tested as part of my early pregnancy bloodwork. She gave me the choice to get the test done or not. I chose to get checked, as I didn’t recall coming down with it as a kid.
It took two weeks, but luckily our results were negative. I was immune to Fifth Disease.
If you’re pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, and around children, make sure talk to your healthcare provider about Fifth Disease.
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